


Who Believes in You

by thelonebamf



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationship, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-07-15 00:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7196993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonebamf/pseuds/thelonebamf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes having just one person believe you makes all the difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who Believes in You

“I’m telling you it’s true!”

 

“You’re stupid! You’re a liar!”

 

“Liar! Liar!”

 

Hal’s hands balled into fists at his side as he took a deep breath, body shaking. He licked at his lips and could already taste the salt of the tears that had streamed down his face. A quick swipe at his nose wiped away the worst of it, though it left his glasses askew.

 

“It’s the truth! I piloted it! It was built for me!”

 

“Liar! Robots are just in cartoons! You must think we’re really stupid to believe that!” 

 

The blonde boy stopped yelling just long enough to shove Hal to the ground and two of his friends joined in, grabbing handfuls of dirt and gravel from the playground and throwing it at the bespectacled child, shouting and yelling all the while.

 

“Liar!”

 

“Stupid!”

 

“Just a dummy and a liar! No one would ever believe you!”

 

Hal pulled his arms tightly around him and waited for them to stop. His glasses had flown from his face and his hair was full of grass and grit, but he remained silent, eyes and mouth tightly closed. He didn’t open them again until he was sure he was alone, other children tired of proving their point by virtue of being the loudest.  Finally, he opened a single eye and pulled himself upright, small hands searching in the dirt for the glasses he’d lost.

 

“Here you go.” 

 

With the sun as bright as it was, Hal could barely make out the pale face and hair of the girl in front of him, but the outline of his glasses was familiar enough. He took them and pushed them back onto his face, taking a moment to scrub at the streak of dirt he could feel on his cheek.

 

“Th-thank you.” 

 

He expected her to shout at him again, or to call him a name, to repeat what the other boys had said. Or perhaps she’d say nothing at all and run off, leaving him alone again. But much like himself, at the tender age of six, the girl had a strong sense of curiosity.

 

“Did you really pilot a  real robot?”

* * *

 

“I don’t remember a lot about it, just that my mom and dad were there and I had to sit inside it and I had buttons to press and I could steer it and I know it sounds maybe like a dream, but it happened all the time and I know I wasn’t dreaming because after my mom would talk to me about it, but I can’t remember what she said really, I just know that it was really important and my dad will tell you I’m telling the truth!”

 

Hal’s chest rose and fell so quickly it was almost painful, but he was so desperate to take Erin to meet his father and have every one of his claims confirmed. He wasn’t stupid by any measure and knew even at a young age that his classmates had never experienced anything like what the stories he told. He and his father never even talked about it between themselves, but he  _ remembered _ , and if just one person would believe him, then it would make it all real.

 

For what it was worth, Erin seemed just as excited, never once complaining about being led by the hand down the sidewalk as fast as their short legs could take them. Perhaps Hal wasn’t the only one who wanted to believe that such fantastic things could be true.

 

Still catching their breath, the two of them were soon in front of Hal’s father, who peered down at them over the tops of his wire frames. He looked at Hal for a moment, who was red cheeked and sweaty as he almost never was, gasping for air after having begged the man to confirm that he really was telling the truth about the giant robot he piloted only a few years ago. A critical look settled on the man’s face as he looked at Hal’s companion, short cropped hair and superhero t-shirt likely the result of having older brothers. Her expression was open and eager, and she even nodded slightly- as though that would spur him on.

 

Huey took a deep breath and turned away from the children, returning to his work.

 

“You shouldn’t wild tell stories, Hal.”

 

* * *

 

“So you’re saying you don’t like her?”

 

“N-no, it’s not that!”

 

“Well then I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. You know, she and Emma have given up a lot to move here to be with us. If you don’t like her you should have said something a long time ago, you know? You were at the wedding Hal. Did you miss the ‘or forever hold your peace?”

 

“No! I mean… no there’s nothing wrong w-with her… just… sometimes she…”

 

“What?”

 

“...Nevermind. Maybe I’m just….”

“Maybe you are.”

  
  


* * *

 

 

If Hal could have slammed the door, he would have. Unfortunately for his temper the dormitory had seen fit to install hinges that eased shut at a snail’s pace and the best he could manage was pushing the door firmly but ever so slowly closed. He dropped his bag at his feet and kicked it aside before shucking off his sneakers and throwing himself onto his bed.

 

Heavy doors. Thick walls. At least nobody would hear him screaming into his pillow.

 

It wasn’t fucking fair. He knew his research was accurate; he’d devoted every waking hour to it for the past three months. Of course that didn’t matter when his advisor didn’t believe he should even be at the university for another year, let alone pursuing a graduate degree. 

 

He pulled his cellphone from his pocket, filing through the numbers though his head was still buzzing too loudly for him to focus on its screen.

 

_ “Implementing a program like that would be ideal of course- but it’s too costly, especially if it didn’t work. It’s nice to think about, but frankly, these decisions should be made by someone with more… experience.” _

 

Hal’s thumb kept prodding at the buttons, cycling through his contacts over and over. Classmates he’d shared projects with. Professors. An empty listing for “Home” that his phone annoyingly refused to let him delete. Nobody he could really talk to. No one who understood what he was going through or wanted to hear his latest gripe about a man who had secured tenure decades ago.

 

Pulling his laptop close he opened a window and typed in the address of a site where students frequently went to discuss their professors, but merely stared at the text in the box before deleting it one character at a time, delete key clacking in the empty room.

 

 

* * *

 

Hal’s office chair groaned painfully as he leaned back, kicking his legs up and crossing them over the edge of his desk. The grainy image flickered on his monitor, security cameras just about at their limit as they patched the footage through to him. 

 

“Guess the Jeep was no good. So what’s that then?” He squinted at the screen for a second before relaxing again. “Oh. Snowmobile. Nice.”

 

He realized he was hungry.

 

He padded towards the vending machines at the far end of the hall, trying not to mind the chill in the air or suspicious stains on the wall. There was a soft sound as he exhaled, drumming his fingers on his chin as he tried to make a decision. Eventually it was followed by the gentle clink of coins being slipped into the slot and the rattle of a bag landing down below.

 

Settling back into his seat, Hal glanced back at the monitor but at this point there was only snow. Well presumably snow. The grainy black and white feed wasn’t doing the scenery much justice.

 

He pulled at the edges of the bag of chips and began to eat. It wasn’t much of a last meal, but it was something.

 

Staring up at the ceiling, he replayed the events of the last twelve hours over in his mind. Part of him still didn’t believe what had happened. The other part of him didn’t believe that he’d opted to stay here to secure Snake’s exit. Unbelievable. As in- not able to be believed.

 

And yet, Snake had believed him. Trusted him. Even after finding out that Hal was none other than the chief engineer on the Metal Gear Rex project, he had no trouble accepting his help, and listened to every scrap of information he relayed as though each one was vital to his survival. Which might not have been too far from the truth, come to think of it.

 

Stranger still, the man seemed just as willing to share his own truths as he was to accept the ones Hal revealed to him. Neither of them were going to win any awards for public speaking any time soon, self expression painfully awkward for Hal at the best of times and Snake clearly taciturn by nature.

 

A few crumbs had fallen into the folds of his parka and he patted it gently until they fell away. 

 

“Good luck, Snake. I think… I would have liked to have gotten to known you better.”

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re almost there, Snake. Once you make it out of the hangar it’s a clear shot across the compound. You just have to be careful, there’s about half a dozen guards on patrol, but they’re moving in regular formation. Find yourself a vantage point and watch until you figure out their blind spot.”

 

“Right. I’m heading out now.”

 

Hal’s vision focused on the blinking pinpoint of light makings its way across his monitor. He clicked his mouse a few times, sifting through various readouts and menus. Vital signs. Site layouts. The specs he’d downloaded detailing the metal gear that may or may not be under construction just yards from where Snake was currently standing. 

 

“Otacon.” The familiar voice rang out inside his earpiece. “There’s some kind of siren going off.”

 

“That’s strange…” his fingers flew across the keyboard as he searched through more schematics and schedules. “You didn’t trip anything, did you?”

 

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

 

“Heh.” Hal smiled to himself. “Just checking. Mm. Let’s see. Looks like… what day is it… Thursday? Okay there’s a routine systems check of their alarm system schedule for today. I could shut it down but that would probably just raise suspicion. You out of sight?”

 

“Like a polar bear in a snowstorm.”

 

Hal chuckled softly. “Okay, then just sit tight. It’ll be about ten minutes and then you can carry on as planned.” 

 

“Got it.”

 

Ten minutes later the alarms stopped their wailing. Another twenty minutes and Snake had made his way into the main research laboratory. After an hour he was on his way back, no sign of Metal Gear Construction, project seemingly abandoned.

 

“Bring back whatever you found, just in case.” Hal had instructed him. “Even if they’re not pursuing Metal Gears, there’s no telling whether they sold their research to other companies. Even the smallest bit of data could end up being that missing link.”

 

“You’re the one with all the degrees. I’ll just trust you on this.” The Codec clicked into its usual silence and Hal was left with only Snake’s word’s to consider.

 

It was still remarkable to him that the two of them worked together like this. While Snake was hardly running missions on a nightly basis, their lives were consumed with Philanthropy’s work. Hal would spend hours pouring over stolen data in an effort to locate and likely suspects and Dave would work beside him, training for when he was inevitably sent out. Otacon would take up his post in whatever dingy apartment they’d settled into, and Snake would go out into the world with nothing but Hal’s voice to guide him.

 

If Hal told him to go left, Snake turned left.

 

If Hal gave him instructions about a security flaw, Snake found a way to exploit it.

 

And if Hal told him to turn back, that the intel was failing and the risks too great, Snake asked no questions, and came back to him without a word.

 

* * *

“You don’t think I should go.” Snake’s voice was low and rough and Hal could just barely make out the tension wearing at each word, a vulnerability Snake didn’t dare to show to the others. 

 

He turned now and his heart ached at the sight of him. Though the two of them were no strangers to cuts and bruises, to field medicine and hotel room patch-ups, there was something different about the scars marring his friend’s face now. 

 

“I- I never said that.” Hal took his glasses from his face, wiped at the lenses though there was nothing on them. “I just said you didn’t have to be the one to go. There’s other people Snake. Other soldiers. And every one of them-”

 

“-still has something to live for. Something to look forward to. No sense in throwing it all away when there’s still an old dog around to do the grunt work. I can still do this Hal. Let me.” 

 

Hal replaced his glasses and looked at Snake who was staring intently at him. “I know you can. It’s just that… I… I still think...hope… you have something to live for too.”

 

“Otacon…”

 

“That chamber… the microwaves… they could kill a man, easily. But I...heh…” He met Snake’s gaze at last. “I stand by what I said before. You’re… you can do it Snake. And maybe you’re right, maybe it does have to be you. I just… wish there was someone else. Just this once.”

 

“But?” Snake waited.

 

“...But this is… too important. This is it. The final showdown. We can’t bank on some random soldier or even one of Meryl’s crew. We need a sure thing. We need  _ you, _ Snake.”

 

Snake gave a dry huff of laughter that devolved into a grating cough, but he managed to give Hal a small semblance of a smile. “I’ll try to keep that in mind then.”

 

“What’s that?”   
  


“When I’m marching through that hallway, getting my insides scrambled like one of those cups of noodles you’re so fond of… and it starts to get rough… I’ll remember you believe in me.”

 

“O-oh…” Hal faltered. “And?”

  
“And I believe in you.”

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution to the "Solid Snake Selebration". Thanks to justlet-melive for some artistic inspiration even if they didn't know it at the time.


End file.
